A Hindu sadhu (holy man) smears coloured paste onto his face ahead of the forthcoming Hindu festival of “Maha Shivaratri” at the Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu on February 11, 2018. Hindus mark the “Maha Shivratri” festival by offering special prayers and fasting, with sadhus arriving at Pashupatinath to take part in the event, which takes place on February 13. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

A Sadhu, Hindu holy person, prepares himself by smearing ashes on his body during the Maha Shivaratri festival at the Pashupati Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, 11 March 2021. The Maha Shivratri festival, which is celebrated on 11 March, sees Hindu devotees, from across the country and neighboring India, gather to celebrate the birthday of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of creation and destruction, by offering special prayers and fasting. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)

A man wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) cremates a body of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) victim at the crematory as the country recorded the highest daily increase in deaths since the pandemic began, in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 3, 2021. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A man transports chicken on a motorscooter to the chicken market in Kathmandu, Nepal, 07 February 2023. Cases of bird flu, or avian influenza, infections have been confirmed in three places in the Kathmandu Valley, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD), causing a drop in sales of chicken in the valley after the spread of the flu news. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

Farmers play with mud as they plant rice on “National Paddy Day of Nepal” in Dhading district on June 29, 2024. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

Devotees pull a wooden chariot carrying an idol of the Hindu deity Bhairav during 'Bisket Jatra' festival to mark the Nepali New Year, in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP Photo)

A devotee is smeared with a vermillion powder while celebrating the “Sindoor Jatra” vermillion powder festival at Thimi, in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 14, 2016. Devotees mark the festival by playing traditional drums, singing, dancing and carrying chariot of various deities around town while throwing vermillion powder to welcome the advent of spring and the New Year. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Devotees push the chariot of Rato Machhindranath during the chariot festival at Bungamati in Lalitpur April 22, 2015. Rato Machhindranath is known as the god of rain and both Hindus and Buddhists worship Machhindranath for good rain to prevent drought during the rice harvest season. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)